Plans for a 24-hour trucking terminal spanning 60 acres in Oakhaven were rejected Thursday amid opposition by neighbors and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis.

Dwayne Spencer, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, wrote in a letter to municipal planner Don Jones arguing the planned SAIA Motor Freight terminal would disturb the senior citizens in a nearby residential neighborhood. Habitat for Humanity has invested $8 million in Oakhaven with 16 homes on Christine Circle near the proposed trucking development, 38 homes in the Trinity Park subdivision and 12 homes under construction, Spencer said.

"We all know that the bumping, loading and parking of trucks can be an annoyance but studies argue it can actually harm residents' health and property," he said. "Researchers found that traffic noise can impair people's hearing, increase stress, disturb sleep, contribute to ill health and reduce the value of nearby homes."

After discussing the plan Thursday, officials on the Shelby County Land Use Control Board voted against it.

Trucking firm says it's committed to site

The property for the proposed terminal is currently vacant and located at Raines Road and Tchulahoma Road east of the Memphis International Airport. The land is heavily wooded on the west and north side, with industrial property to the south and east. To the north and west are homes.

"SAIA is committed to the site," said SAIA's representative Cindy Reaves of SR Consulting. "SAIA is committed to being a good neighbor."

SAIA's proposal is for a 200-door facility for the transfer of materials onto trucks, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It would include 675 trailer spaces, 300 employee spaces, gasoline and diesel service and a 30,000-square-foot shop building for truck maintenance.

"This is a massive project," said Land Use Control Board member James Toles.

Plans to mitigate noise include a berm, vegetation and fencing. Reaves said the location is industrial, so an industrial site will end up there, and the company wants to have open communication with the neighborhood. She said the company has been sensitive to noise, traffic, landscape buffering, the location and orientation of the building, and emissions.

Residents: noise, pollution would be a 'violation'

Neighbor Proteon Paulk, 72, said she is concerned about pollution and pregnant women, babies and seniors inhaling fumes and exhaust.

"Those trucks are going to be all over the place," she said.

Karen Sanders, a longtime resident of the Oakhaven area, also urged the board to vote against the plan. She said for many of the residents, their homes are their most valuable asset.

"It feels like a thief has come to break into our homes and rob us," she told the board. "And if anyone in this room has ever been robbed, you know what it's like to feel violated. Such a violation. ... Don't be an accomplice in this gross violation of the citizens of Oakhaven."

The board voted 6-3 against the plan.

SAIA can appeal the board's decision to the Memphis City Council or revise the plan and resubmit it.

Also Thursday, the board signed off on changes to the previously-approved residential planned development at Colonial Country Club in the Cordova area. Now the plan includes single-family houses, senior living, multi-family homes, offices, a hotel and retail/restaurant space. The hotel would consist of 100 to 120 rooms on 5.6 acres.